Hi folks, I am interested to learn about what you do to stay on plan.

I am talking about those 'weak moments'
- there might be temptation all around you
- you may be in a toxic environment and didn't get a chance to engineer your environment
- you may be really tired or sick
- you may be really really hungry because you have skipped some meals...


BUT YOU PESEVERE AND STAY HEALTHY


How do you do it?

What do you do to replace bad habits with good habits? positively self talk your way back to the healthy side?


I know a lot of you are good at this, so let's learn from each other.

Five rules I try to live by:

1) Don't view this as a "diet." View it as a permanent change in your life. Cliche, but true.

2) Don't kill yourself about a bad day. You're going to have them. Just get in the saddle again the next day and get back to your new normal.

3) Get support from anywhere you can find it -- family, friends, the internet, etc. This also means getting your significant other to remove poisonous foods from your household. My dear wife of 31 years took out every cancy, cookie, chocolate, cracker, and potato chip.

4) Set short term and long term goals. My long term goal will take 2 1/2 years when I'm done, but I have a short term goal of losing 2 pounds a month. I also have goals regarding my blood pressure, BMI, pulse, along with weight lifting goals. Making a goal is very motivational.

5) DON'T skip meals. Figure out how many calories you need to be in a 300 to 700 calorie deficit per day, and then space the food out so you're never hungry. When your stomach starts growling from hunger, you're likely to cave in to your temptation.

I can't say I've really succeeded yet -- I've been doing this since July of last year. But so far I've made good progress. I know the real test will be keeping the weight off for the long term.

Be your own best friend. If you wouldn't say something to someone you cared about - why would you say it to yourself? This attitude really helps with encouraging yourself through tough days, coaxing some extra exercise and, as Tom said, making sure you don't beat yourself up over a 'bad' day.

It isn't much different being a vegan. I am frequently in situations where there is virtually NOTHING I can eat, except the centerpiece!

If in doubt, I pack my own food. Even if it's just an apple, some peanut butter, and a small box of soy milk.

You plan ahead, and you realize that, seriously, you WON'T starve to death, and that you really DO deserve better than what you are being offered!

The occasional "ME ME ME ME" day, where you indulge yourself (carefully, thoughtfully, savoring every moment, not frantically cramming it all in), comes in handy. You can look forward to it when you are currently "suffering"....